


just wanna tell you

by alotofthingsdifferent



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Friends to more, Getting Together, High School AU, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-19 18:29:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13129509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alotofthingsdifferent/pseuds/alotofthingsdifferent
Summary: It’s stupid, he thinks, this crush he has on Leds. Ridiculous, even, since Nick is going to college in the fall and will probably forget Mikey even exists.





	just wanna tell you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shihadchick](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shihadchick/gifts).



> for @shihadchick. This isn't exactly what your prompt said, but I hope it works for you!

It’s nearing midnight one day in mid-August, the sun long-set but the thick humidity of Minnesota in late summer still hanging in the air. Mikey can hear the faint thump of hip-hop bass coming from somewhere inside the house and loud whoops from the guys playing beer pong down closer to the lake. There’s a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead, and his red solo cup is dripping condensation onto the balcony ledge where he’s leaning, taking a breather from the crowd.

He’s 99% sure he’s not even supposed to _be_ at this party -- the cabin belongs to the parents of a kid Mikey is definitely not friends with, on or off the ice -- but Leds had invited him, and, well. He never was any good at saying no to Leds.

He catches sight of him then, leaning into the balcony rails where they curve around the corner of the cabin, about ten feet from where Mikey’s standing. He’s wearing a loose tank top and board shorts, and his hair curls on the top of his head where it’d been wet with lake water most of the afternoon. He’s laughing at something one of his buddies said, loud and happy, and Mikey feels his cheeks flush and has to look away.

It’s stupid, he thinks, this crush he has on Leds. Ridiculous, even, since Nick is going to college in the fall and will probably forget Mikey even exists. He’ll be playing for the _Gopher_ , and there won’t be time to play pick-up or shinny with Mikey anymore, or to hang out on the lumpy couch in Mikey’s basement playing old-school Mario on Mikey’s beat-up old Nintendo. Leds is going to live in his own apartment with a bunch of cool roommates and forget all the time he spent teaching Mikey to work his edges better -- the only reason Mikey can skate backwards as well as he can is that Nick taught him -- and it really sucks that Nick’s going to be gone next year. 

Well. Not _gone_ , the U of M is only about an hour drive from Shattuck, but still. 

It’s stupid.

“Hey,” Nick says, his elbow knocking against Mikey’s on the railing, and Mikey starts, nearly spilling his beer. He almost wishes he had -- it’s too warm to drink now. “Haven’t seen much of you tonight.”

“Huh?” Mikey says, and then shrugs his shoulders. “Oh, sorry. I dunno, it’s, like. Weird? Being here, I mean. Pretty sure Prescott didn’t invite me, so.” He laughs awkwardly, trying to make it a joke, but Nick’s frowning at him.

“I mean,” he starts. “ _I_ invited you, so. It’s cool. It’s not like you’re not welcome here or something. I’d kick Scotty’s ass if he told me you couldn’t come.” He grins, showing all of his crooked little teeth, and Mikey breathes out, nudging Nick’s shoulder with his own.

“Yeah, whatever. I know,” he says. “Thanks, man. For, y’know. Everything.”

 _Oh no_ , Mikey thinks. _No, don’t do it, now isn’t the time, shut up shut up shut -_

“Like, being my friend, and whatever. I’m, uh. Y’know. I’m gonna miss you.”

He coughs, forces himself to take a sip of his beer, and very pointedly does not look at Nick.

“Aw, Mikey,” Nick says softly, and Mikey can hear the warmth of Nick’s smile in his voice. “I’m gonna miss you too.”

Mikey snaps his head to look at Nick, his mouth open a little. “You -- really? You are?”

Nick laughs, his eyes dancing, but his smile fades when he realizes Mikey isn’t smiling back. “Are you serious, man? You think -- we’ve been friends for like, ever. We played mites together, Mikey. The only reason you can skate backwards is because of me.” He pokes Mikey in the side and Mikey laughs, ducking his head. “C’mon. Really? Of course I’m gonna miss you.”

“Cool,” Mikey says, and Nick laughs, ruffling his hair.

“Yeah. Cool.” He downs the last of the beer in his cup and crushes it in his hand, tossing it backwards over his shoulder where it just misses the garbage can he was aiming for. 

“Loser,” Mikey chirps, and picks it up, throwing it away with his own. Nick’s skin is glistening, and Mikey finds his eyes caught on the dip of Nick’s neck, the bob of his Adam’s apple when he swallows. He clears his throat. “Wanna, uh. Go down by the dock or whatever?”

“Or whatever,” Nick teases, but he nods, and Mikey lets him lead the way. They weave their way through the crowd of people downstairs, girls grinding on guys, guys doing shots and saying their early goodbyes to summer. The grass is cool and damp under Mikey’s feet, and he follows Nick all the way to the end of the dock, following suit when Nick sits down and dips his feet in the water.

They sit like that for awhile, quiet except for the intermittent chirp of crickets and the hum of the party behind them, until Nick asks, “So how’s Annie? Still dating her, or?”

It’s an odd question, out of place in their current situation. And Mikey’s pretty sure he told Nick last month when Annie dumped him, so he can’t figure out why Nick’s asking now.

“Uh, no? We broke up last month, dude, remember? I told you, like, right after?”

“Oh,” Nick says, nodding like he suddenly remembers. “Not dating anyone else then, huh?”

“This is a weird conversation,” Mikey says, and Nick laughs, kicking Mikey’s foot under the water. “Seriously, when have we ever talked about who we’re dating?” 

It’s true, is the thing. They’ve been friends for more than ten years and Mikey knows, he’s sure, that Nick has dated girls in that time. He’s probably had at least two real girlfriends,even, but Mikey’s never really asked, and Nick’s never really told, and that’s just the way it’s always been. Mikey’s not sure why, and he’s never really even thought about it. He’s been crushing on Nick for long enough that he really didn’t _want_ to hear about who Nick was dating, so it worked out well for him that Nick kept that kind of information close to his chest. 

“We have,” NIck insists, and Mikey laughs, shaking his head. “We _have_!”

“Dude, we really haven’t. You only knew I was dating Annie because we broke up, and I can’t even remember the name of that one girl you dated last year. Probably because you never told me.”

“I did too!” Nick sputters, and Mikey is suddenly laughing so hard his shoulders are shaking. “You’re my best friend, of course I’d tell you!”

Mikey shakes his head, wiping at his eyes. “Nope. Never did. For all I know, you’re a virgin who’s never even _had_ a girlfriend.”

Nick goes still beside him, and Mikey suddenly feels like he crossed a line. He laughs nervously, elbowing Nick in the side. “I mean, y’know. I know you’re not. A virgin. Or whatever. And you’ve had girlfriends, so. Haha, just kidding about that.”

“I’m not a virgin,” Nick mumbles, and there’s enough moonlight reflecting off the lake that Mikey can tell Nick’s neck is flushed. “I just -- I never told you because -- “

He stops, and Mikey can tell he’s wrestling with something - some reason why he never shared anything that personal with Mikey, why he kept it to himself instead. It makes Mikey’s stomach go tight with nerves, and he grits his teeth, anxious.

“Oh, fuck it,” Nick says under his breath, and then Mikey feels Nick’s hand, heavy on his thigh, just before Nick leans in and kisses him.

And then they’re _kissing_ , he’s kissing _Nick Leddy_ , and he has no idea what to do with his hands, and their bodies are angled wrong, but before he can gather his thoughts and do this _right_ , Nick is pulling away.

His eyes are wide, and his mouth is shiny from the kiss. Mikey is gripping the edge of the dock so tightly his knuckles have gone white, and he can hear his heartbeat pumping wildly in his own ears.  
“I’m sorry,” Nick blurts, and this is it, Mikey thinks, it’s now or never. He grabs Nick’s wrist before he can scramble to his feet.

“Wait,” he says, tugging. “Leds, wait, don’t go.”

Nick blinks at him, cheeks flushed, one of his dark curls hanging over his eye. Mikey reaches up and brushes it back out of his face, his fingertips light on Nick’s forehead. “Don’t go,” he says again, quietly, and he can almost see the relief on Nick’s face.

When Nick leans in again, Mikey is prepared. He hasn’t kissed a whole lot of people, but he knows what he’s doing for the most part, and Nick makes it easy, lets him take the lead, opens his mouth under Mikey’s at just the right time. When he tilts his head to change the angle, Mikey makes a deep sound low in his throat, and the hitch in Nick’s breath is so satisfying that Mikey crawls into Nick’s lap to straddle his thighs. 

Nick grips Mikey’s biceps while Mikey cradles Nick’s face in his hands. He doesn’t move much beyond that, afraid he’ll come in his shorts out here on the dock, but he’s happy just do have this -- Nick’s mouth on his, Nick’s hands on his skin, nothing but the lap of the lakewater against the shore to distract them. 

That is, until, they’re caught. 

“Fucking _finally_!” someone shouts, and between the hoots and hollers, Nick laughs into Mikey’s mouth, pulling away and pressing his face to Mikey’s collarbone. Mikey can feel him smiling, and wow, he thinks. Nick isn’t running away, he isn’t giving excuses like “it’s not what it looks like” or shoving Mikey off his lap into the water. 

He’s _laughing_ , and his hand are on Mikey’s hips, and he’s not acting like this never happened. 

“Get a room!” someone else yells, and the flush Mikey’s wearing goes ten shades darker. Nick raises his hand to flip them off, and everyone laughs. Eventually, after some more chirping and a few “congrats, dudes”, the crowd disperses, and it’s just the two of them again. 

Mikey is still in Nick’s lap; he thinks he should probably move, but in case this is the only time he gets to have this, he stays put.

“So,” Nick says, and drags his fingertips up and down Mikey’s spine. “The U’s not that far from Shattuck, right? Like an hour?”

Mikey nods, shivering when Nick’s fingertips dip beneath the waistband of his shorts, stroking the soft skin of his lower back.

“Good,” he says. “Because I really, uh. I really wanna do this thing. With you.”

Mikey tries to hide his ridiculous smile, but he can’t. “Yeah?” he asks. It’s all he can manage right now. 

“Yeah,” Nick says, and kisses Mikey again. 

Maybe his crush wasn’t so stupid after all.

**Author's Note:**

> The details about Mikey and Nick's friendship and when they met, etc. are fudged to make them work for what I wanted to write. "Prescott" is made up.


End file.
